Mumbai, Nov 14 (IANS) The West Indies surrendered to India’s spin attack and collapsed to 182 all out on day one of their second cricket Test at the Wankhede Stadium here Thursday.
Pragyan Ojha (5/40) and Ravichandran Ashwin (3/45) proved too hot for the visiting batsman on a pitch that offered sharp turn and bounce. An early tea was taken when Ojha had Shannon Gabriel caught behind for the sixth five-wicket haul of his career. The West Indies had started the post-lunch session at 93 for two.
The crowd did not like it when Mahendra Singh Dhoni opted to field in Sachin Tendulkar‘s farewell Test but it got plenty to cheer about in the afternoon session when the West Indies lost eight wickets for 89 runs.
Kieran Powell (48) was caught at short leg off Ojha minutes after the break and the rest of the West Indies batsmen failed to put up any fight.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul, playing his 150th Test, departed after making 25 off 34 balls. The Windies great was off the mark with a six but his stay ended after he edged one off Bhuvneshwar Kumar to the second slip.
Captain Darren Sammy came in with his team reeling at 162 for six. He went for a lofted shot on the second ball he faced resulting in a regulation catch for Rohit Sharma. It happened to be Ashwin’s 100th Test wicket, making him the fastest Indian to reach the landmark.
Earlier, the West Indies did well to reach 93 for two at lunch.
Opener Powell (45 not out) held the innings together and the West Indies would have also loved to see Darren Bravo (29) remain in the middle.
Ashwin had Bravo caught behind just before the morning session ended, giving the Indians the opportunity to make inroads into the fragile West Indies batting order post-lunch. Pacer Mohammed Shami dismissed the dangerous Chris Gayle (11) cheaply.
The hosts began well courtesy Shami, who had Gayle edge one to Rohit at point. The southpaw, playing from the backfoot, was undone by the bounce and pace generated by the in-form speedster.
Powell and Bravo gave the innings momentum with a 61-run partnership. Powell was aggressive in his approach and was not afraid to use his feet against spin while Bravo delighted the crowd with some classy shots.
The West Indies could have lost more wickets had Ashwin not dropped Powell when he was batting on 21. Bhuvneshwar induced an edge with his usual away swinging ball but Ashwin could not hold on to it at second slip.
The Indian off-spinner somewhat compensated for the slip-up by removing Bravo with one that turned and bounced before reaching Dhoni’s gloves.
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